Trading Mikal Bridges called Sixers' biggest offseason mistake

Trading Mikal Bridges called Sixers' biggest offseason mistake

It’s tough to label any offseason decision a “bad” move before seeing how things play out during the year. With that said, it’s part of the job to evaluate moves as they happen, which is exactly what Bleacher Report’s Adam Fromal did recently.

During a breakdown of the most boneheaded offseason decisions by each NBA team, he broke things into various categories. There were the mistake-free squads, teams who made minor mistakes, and then the teams who royally screwed up.

Fortunately, the Sixers found themselves under the “minor mistakes” category with six other teams. Their bad move? Trading away Mikal Bridges during the 2018 NBA Draft, according to Bleacher Report.

Philadelphia 76ers: Trading Mikal Bridges

The Sixers can’t be too concerned about their decision to trade the No. 10 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. They still landed a rookie (Zhaire Smith) with immense upside who complements the incumbents nicely and figures to contribute both with his defensive intensity and cutting prowess. That they also onboarded a 2021 first-round pick for essentially moving down six slots only helps.

But I still can’t shake the feeling that Mikal Bridges was an even better fit, a piece who could have elevated the team’s ceiling until it represented that of a title contender. His spot-up shooting is an element Smith can’t provide, and it’s a necessary one for working alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

To be fair, I don’t completely hate the assessment here. Although, I think picking up the 2021 first-round pick paired with Zhaire Smith’s upside makes the deal fine.

Bridges has the potential to be a very good NBA player, but I don’t think the Sixers gave up the next superstar. In turn, the deal makes sense, and it’s probably why it fell under the “minor mistakes” section.

For good measure, the Milwaukee Bucks also landed there due to their decision to overpay Ersan Ilyasova. At least the Sixers didn’t do both of those things, right?